Chapter 24
Adjustments
A Week Later
Land of Hot Water
Minato's Hideout
Minato watched Naruto as he sparred with Kakashi, he was proud of his son's progress the entire week they spent together and he had even managed to get the cold Kakashi to warm up to him and Naruto had spent time with all of them together and separately and easily fit in like he was always there. They were out in front of the cabin training on the soft grass field.
He was surprised by Naruto's request to train him after they spend their first evening together talking, Minato had planned to move out from the hideout the next day but Naruto had made him shift his priorities and change his plans around.
He still remembered the look in Naruto's eyes when he begged him to teach him advanced Fuinjutsu and the reason why.
'I have a friend whose a Slave Ninja to the Yotsuki Clan, I need to know how to destroy the Tsuki Fuin.' Naruto's words rang clear in his head.
'Most Ninja only learn to gain power or an advantage over their opponents but he wants to learn to save a friend.' Minato thought as he watched his son duck under Kakashi's kick and attempt a counterattack.
"Huah! How's the kid's training going?" Jiraiya asked with a yawn as he approached Minato from the cabin.
"Great he's a quick physical learner." Minato answered.
"Yeah, that's the feeling I got from the kid as well he seems to learn best by doing it rather than listening to lectures or reading scrolls." Jiraiya agreed with the assessment.
"Has he told you about his Ranton yet?" Jiraiya asked lowly so neither of the two people sparring could hear.
"No, but I think he will once he trusts me enough." Minato answered it did seem that the Uzumaki Clan did teach him enough about distrusting outsiders.
"Give it time, the last time you saw him he was a baby who could barely see or hear you." Jiraiya advised patting Minato on the back.
"I know, but I've missed so much he's already 13." Minato sighed and felt a surge of anger at the Uzumaki for keeping his son from him.
"You just have to make up for it by being there for the rest of his life then." Jiraiya said as he stretched his arms.
"Is that why you insisted on a full weeks training when all he wanted to do was learn how to break the Tsuki Fuin?" Minato asked his Sensei.
"Of course, you've spent far enough time apart, now's the time to learn about each other as a Father and Son should." Jiraiya did not even bother lying.
"I guess your right Sensei." Minato admitted, he had been caught up in his work ever since Kushina died and he felt that not having Naruto with him when he found out made him worse and concentrate solely on his self-appointed job.
"You know Minato, I've always thought of you as my son since I don't have any kids of my own and if that was the case then Naruto is my grandson and what I want is for you two to get along." Jiraiya admitted in a very rare moment of seriousness and vulnerability.
Minato was struck to silence after hearing that admission and Jiraiya took advantage of that shock and walked over to Naruto.
"Hey, Naruto! How about you finish with Kakashi there and come and train with me for a bit." Jiraiya called out causing Naruto to lose concentration and catch a punch from Kakashi which sent him sprawling to the ground.
"Damn it! Ero-Sennin you distracted me!" Naruto shouted indignantly while Kakashi chuckled.
"Ero-Sennin huh, if only the world knew what you called one of the strongest Ninja in the world." Kakashi chuckled even more at Jiraiya's offended look.
'Should I teach him the Rasengan then? Jiraiya has already told me he wants Naruto to sign the Toad contract, just like an inheritance within the family.' Minato thought as he watched Naruto and Jiraiya argue while Kakashi watched on amused, it was the most emotion he saw out of Kakashi in a long time and he had to wonder if that was his fault.
Kakashi was always a reserved child and when Minato found him after his father died he was basically mute as well as being distant and emotionally shut off but after spending time with him and later Jiraiya and Kushina he came out of his shell and became more balanced emotionally.
Then Kushina died and Minato fell into a haze of hate and despair, he could have stormed the Uzumaki Village but that would have brought him in conflict with Uzumaki Nagato and after seeing the red-head with the legendary Rinnegan Minato did not feel confident enough to take him directly at the time especially since he did not know what Dojutsu the Rinnegan actually had.
'I should have just stolen Naruto and raised him in one of my hideouts.' Minato thought reflecting on his past choices.
'No! I shouldn't dwell on the past I can't change it so I should just look to the future I can have with Naruto now.' He thought filled with determination and for the first time in a long time hope.
'I'll teach Naruto the Rasengan, he's my son and in this world, if you can't trust family who can you trust.' Minato decided as he watched Jiraiya unfurl the Toad contract.
"What should I sign my name as? I mean the Uzumaki have probably struck me from their records." Naruto asked looking at Jiraiya with the scroll in front of him.
"Use my name, you are my son after all." Minato said as he crouched in front of the scroll opposite Naruto.
"Okay." Naruto smiled brightly and signed the Toad contract as Namikaze Naruto.
The signing of a Summoning Contract was done in blood and a handprint with finger and thumbprints as well.
"Congratulations you are now an official Toad Summoner." Jiraiya said as he rolled the giant scroll back up and placed it on his back.
"You should try it out, I'll teach you how." Jiraiya said to him.
"Are we needed anywhere Sensei?" Kakashi asked while Naruto was being distracted by Jiraiya.
"No, we completed the mission as required. There's no harm in taking a break once in a while." Minato said with a slight smile as he watched Naruto slowly go through the Hand Signs for the Kuchiyose No Jutsu as Jiraiya coached him.
"I see." Kakashi said watching Minato carefully then he smiled, his eyes crinkling up.
"I think I'm going to read some books and have a sleep then Sensei." Kakashi said with a nod and he meandered his way over to the stone cabin.
"This is probably the best thing that could have happened." Minato muttered.
"Kuchiyose no Jutsu!" Naruto called out as he slammed his hand into the ground.
A large cloud of smoke covered him which was surprising to Minato he was expecting a smaller one along with a small Toad but that did not happen as when the smoke cleared Naruto was standing on top of a Toad the same size as Jiraiya and dressed like a typical yakuza with a pipe in one hand.
"Eh! Jiraiya what are you doing summoning me here!?" The toad then let out a cloud of smoke from its mouth.
"Gamatai! I didn't summon you here, he did." Jiraiya pointed to the blonde boy on his head.
"Hey!" Naruto greeted as he jumped from the Toad's head and landed in front of it.
"This little shrimp summoned me! Hah that's a good joke Jiraiya." Gamatai laughed or croaked it was hard to tell with Toads sometimes.
"I did summon you!" Naruto was instantly in argument mode and Minato sighed watching it.
'He has Kushina's temper.' He thought watching the argument unfold as Naruto insisted that he summoned the large toad.
"You stupid Toad, I wish I hadn't summoned you so I could have got a better one!" Naruto shouted back after the two of them volleyed insults at each other.
'And her tongue as well.' Minato sighed even heavier as Gamatai threatened to cut off Naruto's tongue in recompense for the insult.
Luckily for everyone involved, the time on Gamatai's appearance ran out and he disappeared in the middle of threatening Naruto with his Tanto.
"That was unexpected." Jiraiya commented as Naruto glared where the toad once was.
"I know, I was expecting maybe a small toad or a tadpole." Minato commented as Naruto grumbled to himself over the toad.
"Stupid Toad should have roasted him." Naruto grumbled loud enough for both of them to hear it.
"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!" Jiraiya just started laughing while Minato smiled and remembered how Kushina was when she got angry.
"Maybe you should start with less Chakra and smaller Toads." Minato advised his son.
"I guess but I did summon him." Naruto complained.
"Yes, we both know you summoned Gamatai but some of the Toads are a little 'difficult' personality-wise." Minato admitted while Jiraiya nodded obviously thinking of Gamabunta.
"Don't worry about it Naruto, there are no better allies than the Toads. Once you gain their respect they'll fight with you until the very end." Jiraiya advised him.
"Whatever you say Ero-Sennin." Naruto shrugged and Minato held back a smile as a flash of indignation crossed Jiraiya's face at the name that Naruto refused to let go of.
"Little brat, calling me Ero-Sennin." Jiraiya began to grumble unhappily and Minato decided it was time to start with the other training he wanted Naruto to do.
At first, it was supposed to be a crash course in destroying the Tsuki Fuin and when Minato found out that Naruto had modified it in a way he did not think was possible and it was then Minato realised that Naruto had a very out of the box and unorthodox method for Fuinjutsu and teaching him how to remove the Tsuki Fuin was a quick process and of course, Jiraiya did not want to end it there and basically turned what was supposed to be a crash course in advanced Fuinjutsu into a full week of training Naruto in different Ninja arts.
Kakashi would teach him tracking and help him with his Taijutsu, Jiraiya would handle his complete inability in Genjutsu while also teaching him so more esoteric Ninjutsu while Minato himself was advancing his Fuinjutsu knowledge while also helping him with his Nature Transformations since Minato himself had Fire, Wind and Lightning so he could teach Naruto those types of elemental Ninjutsu.
'But now it's time for the Rasengan the pinnacle of Shape Transformation.' Minato thought as he watched Naruto and Jiraiya snipe at each other.
"Okay, Naruto! It's time for you to learn a new Ninjutsu." Minato announced catching the boy's attention instantly.
"What is it? A cool one!?" Naruto asked excitedly.
Jiraiya nodded at Minato as he already knew what Minato wanted to teach his son.
"I need to get going anyway, I do have to check the Land of Lightning after all." Jiraiya said rolling his shoulders.
"Eh! You're leaving already!?" Naruto spun around and asked him.
"Naruto I think this is the longest I've stayed in one place for a year now, I came up here to scout the north and stumbled across you by chance. I need to finish my mission up here." Jiraiya explained crossing his arms.
"That sucks." Naruto summed it up succinctly.
"That's the life Naruto, we'll meet up again soon after I've done the job." Jiraiya patted Naruto on the head and ruffled his spiky hair then after nodding to Minato he was gone in a puff of smoke using the Shunshin Jutsu.
"Well, Naruto do you want to learn one of the Ninjutsu I created?" Minato asked tapping him on the shoulder.
"Yeah!" Naruto was as enthusiastic as ever.
"Okay take a close look at this." Minato said taking a step back and holding out his right hand towards Naruto with the palm up.
Nothing happened at first and Naruto did not look impressed but then Chakra began to swirl in Minato's hand and it even created a small wind current and Naruto watched in amazement as pure Chakra became visible to the naked eye and not in the form of an element, eventually it swirled around and formed a perfect sphere which hovered an inch or two above Minato's hand.
"Woah!" Naruto was thoroughly impressed.
"This is the Rasengan my favourite Ninjutsu." Minato revealed as the sphere of swirling Chakra whirled in his hand.
"Cool." Naruto said as he got closer to get a good look at it.
"Careful this is a high-level Ninjutsu." Minato warned him not to touch.
"What does it do?" Naruto asked.
"Watch." Minato said and he walked over to a nearby huge boulder and then he slammed the Rasengan into it.
The Rasengan ground rock into dust and created a spiral pattern on it as it did so and then to Naruto's shock the entire back of the boulder was blown out.
"Woah!" Naruto let out a yelp as it exploded backwards.
"Do you understand what happened?" Minato asked as he turned back to Naruto.
"No, not really." He admitted.
"There's nothing to be ashamed of this Ninjutsu took me 3 years to create. It is the pinnacle of the Shape Transformation of Chakra and it doesn't need any Hand Signs either." Minato explained.
"That's amazing." Naruto said looking at Minato with stars in his eyes.
"So do you want to learn it?" Minato teased him.
"Yeah!" Naruto shouted and jumped forward then realised what he had done and recoiled with an embarrassed flush on his face.
"It's going to be difficult even Jiraiya had some trouble learning it as it requires extremely fine Chakra control." Minato said as he pulled out a scroll and put it on the ground and unfurled it enough to reveal a single Fuinjutsu.
"The learning process for this Ninjutsu is divided into 3 steps; Rotation, Power and Containment. The first step for you to learn is obviously Rotation." Minato explained as he unsealed a load of water balloons and tossed one to Naruto who caught it confused.
"What do I do with this?" Naruto asked as he passed the water balloon from one hand to the other.
"Watch this." Minato instructed as he picked one up himself and held it out as he did before to demonstrate the Rasengan.
The balloon in Minato's hand did nothing at first like before but then it began to deform only a little at first but then it got more and more deformed to the point where it no longer resembled a sphere and then it burst open and soaked Minato's hand and fell onto the grass.
"You have to make the water balloon burst with Chakra alone." Minato said as he flicked the water off his hand.
"I see." Naruto said and regarded his own water balloon.
Naruto began to attempt the same himself but after a few minutes, all he managed to do was make the balloon shake from side to side without bursting.
"Mhmmmmm!" He growled and tried even harder but eventually, he sighed and looked at the balloon like it personally offended him.
"Don't rush it Naruto, you have to be patient like I said before this is a hard Ninjutsu to learn." Minato said as he sat cross-legged on the ground to watch Naruto.
"Okay, I've done things hard like this before." Naruto said as he tried again.
"Imagine forming a ball within the balloon, like with your Ranton as you form it as a sphere in your hands." Minato said casually and Naruto froze for a moment before sighing.
"So you know about that huh," Naruto said as he concentrated on the balloon.
"Jiraiya told me you were training with it when he contacted me to meet you." Minato admitted.
"It's the reason why I went to the Bofu Clan, to get their Ninjutsu so I could learn how to use it." Naruto revealed carefully omitting certain information.
"I never would have thought that you could have been born with a random Kekkei Genkai." Minato said.
"I was surprised as well." Naruto admitted.
"But I suppose it's not that big of a surprise, my own affinities are Fire, Wind, Lightning, Yin and Yang and Kushina had Wind, Water and Yin as well so you would have inherited those ones strongly." Minato reasoned out and gave Naruto the perfect out to not admit that he went around stealing Kekkei Genkai.
"Yeah," Naruto said with some sweat forming on his forehead as he made the balloon shiver and shake violently.
Eventually, he managed to make a hole in the balloon and the water poured out onto the grass below.
"Good progress." Minato congratulated his son.
"It didn't burst though." Naruto said sulkily like a child.
"It's still a good sign that you're getting the hang of it." Minato reassured him.
"Right! Another one!" Naruto called out as he picked another from the pile at his feet.
Minato watched his son as he tried over and over again to make the balloon burst through Chakra alone, he was getting better at making a hole in the balloon's and he even started making 2 instead of 1.
They had started training early in the morning and the sun was moving through the sky now and was getting more to midday and they would stop for lunch soon.
'How did Dad do it, I watched him make it burst and he didn't make a single hole before it exploded.' Naruto thought as he tried another one and reflected on what he saw.
'Hang on, I remember how it looked like he made the water move all around like a whirlpool instead of just making it go in one direction.' Naruto realised and he looked at the new balloon in his hand.
"Naruto, It's time for lunch you can get back to training after having something to eat." Minato said as he stood up.
"Hang on! I got it this time!" Naruto said confidently as he made the water go around in a chaotic whirlpool instead of making it move in one direction.
Naruto's hard work paid off as the balloon began to deform just like Minato's had and then it burst out mirroring his Father's attempt.
"Oh! Well done Naruto!" Minato congratulated earnestly with a smile on his face.
'I never expected him to get it in half a day, but it looks like he remembered how I did it.' Minato thought proudly.
"Come on we can have some ramen." Minato said putting an arm around his son.
"Okay." Naruto agreed with a satisfied smile on his face.
They both walked back to the cabin to have some lunch with Kakashi who was reading one of Jiraiya's books that Naruto wasn't allowed to read, but it was the most he felt at home since his Mom died.
Naruto resolved to enjoy it while it lasted.
The Next Day
After getting Rotation down Naruto moved onto the Power step of learning the Rasengan which was making a rubber ball burst which was much harder as there was no water and the rubber shell was thicker than the balloon.
He started learning after lunch yesterday and made little progress in making it burst and this was his second day of attempting to learn the Rasengan.
"Remember you have to increase the volume and density of Chakra, it has to be as much as you can fit into the ball." Minato advised Naruto as they were in the same situation as yesterday with Minato sitting down watching him while Naruto attempted to pop rubber balls instead of water balloons.
Kakashi was out today he was sent out to scout the nearby village and Jiraiya had left the previous day so it was just Naruto and Minato.
"RARGH!" Naruto roared as he pumped as much Chakra as he could into the ball and then progress was made as a hole appeared near the bottom of the rubber ball where he was holding it and the air escaped with a hiss.
"Well done." Minato said as he worked on a Fuinjutsu scroll, Naruto had no idea what it was supposed to be it was far too complex for him and his Dad had only taught him how to break the Tsuki Fuin and similar Juinjutsu.
"I think I've got how it feels now." Naruto said as he picked another one up and winced when he felt his Chakra burns on his palms.
"Be careful not to overdo it, you can't recover from the Tenketsu in your hand being damaged badly." Minato warned and he even looked up and stared at Naruto.
"I know." Naruto said to him as he passed the ball from one hand to the other.
'I just need to do the same thing as I did with the water only this time I use the air inside instead of water.' Naruto decided as he tried it again.
This time he filled the entire rubber ball with his Chakra and then he made it swirl all over the place and manipulated it so that it was pressing against the entire rubber shell of the ball, what he wanted was to make it stretch and explode by applying a large amount of Chakra to every section from the inside.
His bet paid off as the rubber ball exploded and even knocked Naruto down onto his backside.
"Ow!" He complained more from the loud bang than from the fall.
"I'm amazed that you're getting this down so quickly it's only the second day and you've completed 2 out of the 3 steps." Minato finished his Fuinjutsu scroll and rolled it up.
He stood up and sealed the rubber balls away and gave Naruto another water balloon and he stared at it confused since he had passed that step yesterday.
"The third and final step Containment is both simple in theory but difficult in execution, watch closely." Minato explained and held out his own water balloon and Naruto waited for something to happen but nothing did.
"What's going on?" Naruto asked him looking confused.
"I am combining the first 2 steps Rotation and Power inside this water balloon this is what it looks like on the inside." Minato said and made a Rasengan in his left hand while holding the balloon in his right.
"You have to combine both steps in a contained sphere, and to master the Rasengan you have to not burst the balloon." Minato finished his explanation.
The Rasengan in his left hand dispersed into the air and Minato placed the Water Balloon in the pile.
"This is the most difficult step of the Rasengan as you have to maintain power, rotation and more importantly control over the Chakra and make sure it doesn't rupture the water balloon, everyone struggles with this step." Minato said to Naruto.
"I get it." Naruto muttered and then he attempted to copy his father only his water balloon burst near instantly.
"Oh." He said disappointed.
"Like I said I don't think this is one you'll get done in a day." Minato shook his head.
"Keep trying, you will get it eventually." Minato encouraged him.
"Okay, Dad." Naruto said as he concentrated on his balloon.
'Kakashi should have been back by now, he was only dropping off the funds for the mission.' Minato thought looking out at the forest for any sign of his first apprentice.
'He's probably just taking his time, I know he's become more relaxed since we've been here.' Minato put it out of his mind and concentrated back on Naruto who had just burst his 5th water balloon.
Minato felt at peace for the few hours he watched Naruto attempt the final step of learning the Rasengan but all good things eventually come to an end and Minato perked up when he felt Kakashi pass the first barrier back to the hideout.
Then he felt 10 more people following Kakashi and instantly knew what was going on.
'He's being chased! Was it a trap!' Minato thought with alarm as he snapped to attention and his head turned towards the forest where he could feel Kakashi pass through the barriers followed closely by his pursuers they were getting hit by the traps but it seemed like these were skilled Ninja.
"What Clan could they be!?" Minato said in alarm getting Naruto's attention.
"What's going on!?" Naruto asked as he burst another balloon but did not pick another up.
"Kakashi is being chased by 10 unknowns and they're skilled enough to avoid or mitigate damage from the traps." Minato explained quickly as an explosion erupted from the forest and sent trees and grass flying everywhere.
"What do we do?" Naruto asked looking pumped for a fight.
"I will help Kakashi, you stay back." Minato ordered him.
"I can fight! You know that!" Naruto said angrily at being told to essentially run.
"I fought a Kaguya with their Kekkei Genkai and even against Kinkaku Clan Ninja as well." Naruto revealed his pedigree of fighting to Minato.
"This is something beyond Clans Naruto. This is truly dangerous." Minato said without truly explaining what was going on which Naruto did notice, he may be slow but he wasn't stupid.
"Sensei!" Kakashi appeared in a puff of smoke in front of Minato.
"What happened?" Minato asked him as he manually activated the last few traps which made the ground shake as underground explosions caused an earthquake and even changed the landscape by creating a huge hole in the ground that the enemies would have to cross.
"I made the drop no problem but afterwards I noticed that they were being watched so I intercepted them when they were about to take the funds. The couriers managed to get away safely but they concentrated on taking me alive." Kakashi answered quickly.
"Who are they?" Minato asked again.
"I don't know, they don't have any Clan markings but they are Ninja." Kakashi admitted lowly.
'Another organization!' Minato thought with alarm and his eyes found Naruto again.
"You wanted to get to the Land of Earth didn't you?" Minato asked remembering one of their conversations from the previous few days.
"Yeah. Why?" Naruto was suspcicous of Minato now.
"Do you have all your Sealing Scrolls and equipment?" He asked another question.
"Yeah of course I do." Naruto answered positively again, It was a good habit to develop as a Ninja to carry everything important on you at all times even if you think you are somewhere safe.
"Good." Minato said and he seemed to be resolute about something now.
"Sorry I can't get you caught up in this, you'll end up in another hideout and you can do what you want from there, we will get back in touch, I applied our proper Fuinjutsu Pass to you a few days ago." Minato said and he walked over to Naruto and placed both of his hands on Naruto's shoulders.
"I love you Naruto, you're my Son and we will meet again and I promise I'll explain everything then." Minato said and kissed the crown of Naruto's head and then a moment later Naruto was gone, Minato sent Naruto to a hideout in the Land of Grass just on the border with the Land of Earth.
"You used the Hiraishin on him." Kakashi pointed out dumbly.
"I don't want Naruto involved in this mess." Minato said as he drew out a unique three-pronged kunai.
"You don't want him fighting in our shadow war, that's understandable." Kakashi admitted as he prepared himself for the battle to come.
"I know we were warned about another organization but I never expected them to be this brazen." Minato admitted as he felt the survivors of his final trap make their approach.
"Some people just don't want a better world." Kakashi said cynically as he prepared himself for the coming battle.
"There is always a price for peace Kakashi." Minato said.
This would be the first of many skirmishes between those in shadows, one side wished for a better world another wished to have the status quo remain and they would clash numerous times over the coming years, this was merely the opening clash and it would not conclude quickly.
AN:
Here is Chapter 24 for your reading pleasure, hope you all enjoyed it and look forward to 25.
Translations:
Kuchiyose no Jutsu=Summoning Technique
Rasengan=Spiralling Sphere
Shunshin Jutsu=Body Flicker Technique
Hiraishin Jutsu=Flying Thunder God Technique
Juinjutsu=Curse Technique